


Losing Time

by capitalnineteen



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Angst, Emotions, F/M, If you're cool with the general content of TAZ then this is probably fine, M/M, There's swearing, otherwise just some, probably someone will eventually do a nasty hit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-10
Updated: 2018-06-17
Packaged: 2019-05-20 09:14:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 17,743
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14891810
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/capitalnineteen/pseuds/capitalnineteen
Summary: After being missing for three days, Barry has been mysteriously de-aged. Now he looks 20 years old and doesn’t remember anyone. Lup, Kravitz, and Taako are trying to figure things out. (Set maybe 5-6 months after Story & Song.)





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Barry's back... sort of.

Lup rushes through the portal into her and Barry’s living room. “Where is he?” she demands.

Kravitz blocks the doorway to the bedroom. “Lup, first things first, Barry is alright. He’s safe.”

“Yeah, how is that not reassuring?” she responds, her mouth tight. “What’s going on? He’s been gone for three days!” She shakes her head. “Just move and let me see him.”

“You can see him but I need to talk to you first,” Kravtiz tries to explain.

“You’re forgetting something here,” she tells him as she summons her scythe. “I don’t have to use that doorway.” She rips open a portal and moves through it before Kravitz can stop her. She steps out ten feet away, on the other side of the door.

From his side of the door, Kravtiz hears two things. First is the sound of bedsprings as someone moves. 

The second is Lup’s exclamation, “What the fuck?!” 

Kravitz yanks open the door and enters the bedroom. “I was trying to warn you,” he points out.

He moves between Lup and a young man of about college age who is pressing himself into the far corner of the room. 

“It’s alright, Barry. She didn’t mean to startle you, she just likes dramatic entrances,” Kravitz says calmly.

“Startle me?! She’s carrying a scythe!” he points out. “She came out of nowhere! Carrying a scythe!”  the young man responds in a rushed whisper. He doesn’t move from his place in the corner and he doesn’t take his eyes off the elf as he speaks. “And why do you keep calling me ‘Barry?’” 

“Like I said, dramatic entrances,” Kravitz says. He glances over his shoulder. “And she’s putting the scythe away,” he adds.

Lup flicks her hand, making the scythe disappear. “Barry?” she asks gently.

“Why does everyone keep calling me ‘Barry?!’” the man demands again. He’s starting to wheeze as he talks. He starts shoving his hands into his pockets, searching for something. “Where’s my inhaler?” he asks between increasingly labored breaths. “Gods, I always have it in my jeans pocket,” he adds to himself.

Lup steps forward around Kravitz. “Okay, it’s fine, listen,” Lup says, and her voice is more gentle than Kravitz has ever heard. “I don’t know where it is but just concentrate on my voice,” she tells him. She’s edging towards Barry slowly, holding her empty hands out in front of her, slowly patting the air as if she’s petting a giant, invisible dog. 

“You just have to make yourself calm,” she instructs, her tone soft and measured. “I didn’t mean to scare you. I was just…” she pauses as she reaches him, places her hands gently on his forearms. “I was just in a hurry,” she finishes. “Try to match my breathing, okay, ‘Bar? I mean… Okay?” She begins taking loud, showy breaths, audibly breathing in and out in a slow, careful rhythm.

The man’s eyes are wide but his breathing begins to slow and lengthen, trying to match Lup’s breaths.

Lup strokes her hands lightly down Barry’s arms as they breathe together. She maintains eye contact with him. Kravitz can’t see from behind her but if he could, he’d be impressed with the carefully schooled expression of complete calm on her face.

Kravitz finds himself matching their regulated breathing as he watches. Slowly Lup gets Barry calm enough to speak. Kravitz isn’t sure that’s an improvement.

“Why do you both keep calling me ‘Barry?’”  he asks. His voice is strained and his breathing still sounds a bit wheezy. 

“Sorry, you just…” Lup tries to answer.

“You remind us of someone,” Kravtiz finishes. “Sorry, Sildar.”

Barry glances at Kravitz quickly before his eyes return to Lup. “It’s okay, I guess,” he tells them. “Thanks,” he tells Lup, and a blush creeps up his face. “Sorry I panicked,” he adds. “That scythe, though, that was… something.”

Lup smiles. “Yeah, scythes are pretty intimidating,” she agrees. “We’ll have to get you one.”

Barry laughs, “Yeah, sure, that sounds like me, absolutely. ‘Sildar Hallwinter, scythe wielding science major.’” He laughs again. ”Sounds like a bad comic book.”

Lup laughs. “I guess so, Sildar,” she agrees. “But I bet you could pull it off.”

Kravitz coughs politely. “Alright, so, how about Lup and I try to find your…” he pauses, mentally reviewing the conversation for the word, “inhaler, was it? We’ll go find that and you get some rest. We’ll be back in a bit.” He moves towards the door, his eyes on Lup. “And when we come back we will use the door and knock like civilized people, right, Lup?” 

Lup pushes the hair back out of Barry’s eyes and smiles sadly. “Yeah, uh, sorry again about that. You get some rest, Bar… Sildar. You look pretty worn out. Just, uh…” she glances down at Barry’s hand, relieved to see that along with the now slightly overlarge jeans and shirt, he is still wearing his ring. She pats his hand gently as she continues. “Just try to stay calm and we’ll bring that inhaler as fast as we can, okay?”

Barry nods. “Okay,” he answers. He looks exhausted and that wheeze is still underlining his breathing. “Thanks.”

“No problem, babe,” she answers. “Back soon,” she tells him. As soon as she says this her eyes go wide. “I mean… we’ll bring back that inhaler and get you … get you better.” She stops talking and rushes out the door, leaving Kravitz to follow.

Kravitz nods to Barry and steps through the door after Lup. He closes the door gently behind him and turns to find his sister-in-law breathing as fast as Barry had been a few minutes ago.

“Kravitz, what the  _ fuck _ ?” she whispers. 

Kravitz frowns and shakes his head. “I’m not sure exactly. He got the bounty he was after, the Raven Queen already confirmed that to you and me both when we were looking for him. Apparently they’d left some kind of trap and he triggered it. He was just wandering…” Kravitz sighs and adds the obvious, “He doesn’t seem to remember anything.”

“Clearly,” Lup responds bitterly. “This fucking family,” she says. “I’m gonna get some memory charms and line our clothes with them. We should get a bulk discount.” She runs her hands through her hair, her wild curls springing back as her fingers comb through. “What the fuck do we do?” she asks Kravitz, the calm mask she’d forced for Barry completely falling. “I tried sense magic, there’s nothing there to dispel!”

“Let’s start with the inhaler,” Kravitz answers. “What the hell is an inhaler, anyway?”

“I don’t know that I’ve seen one on Faerun,” Lup tells him. “Lucas Miller would probably be a good one to ask.”

“What was all that?” Kravitz asks.

“He used to get panic attacks,” Lup says. “When he was younger. He got panic attacks and they brought on asthma attacks. The asthma seemed to go away when he got over the panic attacks, he said. That was…” she shakes her head. “That was all before I knew him.” She looks at Kravitz, “It’s been so long that doesn’t even seem possible now,” she tells him, “that there was a time before I knew him.”

Kravitz nods, “It’s going to be alright, Lup. Let’s talk to Lucas Miller. And get Taako and Merle,” he adds. “Maybe they’ll have some ideas.”

“Split up?” Lup asks him as she resummons her scythe.

He eyes his sister-in-law. “No, let’s stick together. This shouldn’t take long. We can be back in a matter of minutes.”

Lup nods and opens a portal to Taako and Kravitz’s home. “I hope so,” she tells him. She looks at the wedding ring in her hand that she’d surreptitiously slid off his finger. “I don’t like leaving him alone like this.”


	2. Chapter 2

“He’s what now?” Taako asks incredulously. “That doesn’t sound like necromancy,” he adds. “Is that a thing?”

“Not really,” Kravitz says, “They’re generally about holding onto life not reversing aging. It’s nothing I’ve ever seen but…” He looks at Lup and his mouth twists. “Barry is the expert,” he finishes.

“Can we discuss this once we get back?” Lup demands. They’ve been in Taako and Kravtiz’s place for fifteen minutes now which is about fourteen and a half minutes longer than her patience can stand.

“Sure, Lulu,” Taako agrees. “Let’s go.”

 

 

In a reversal, Merle isn’t as accommodating as Taako. “Look, I’d love to help but I’m not sure what I have to offer for this situation.” He gestures at the dozen children running wild behind him. “And I’ve got a full load at the moment and no one to hand them off to.” He shrugs. “Sorry. I’ll see what I can find for you and give you a yell over the stone, though,” he offers.

“It’s fine, Merle,” Lup answers. “I don’t think Zone of Truth was going to do much for us anyway.”

“Lup!” Taako and Kravitz say at the same time.

“Sorry,” Lup answers, not sounding apologetic. She opens a portal back to her own home. “I’m heading back. You guys can handle Lucas Miller without me.” She steps through and the portal closes before anyone can respond.

“Sorry, Merle,” Taako says.

“She’s just worried,” Kravitz adds.

“Understandable,” Merle responds. “But… look, he’s still a lich, right? And a reaper to boot? Whatever this is can’t get around that stuff, can it?”

Kravitz shakes his head and frowns. “I just don’t know.”

 

 

Lup exits the portal into her house and instantly dismisses her scythe. She crosses to the bedroom door and pauses to listen. She can hear the faint but familiar sound of Barry snoring. She lets out a breath and scrubs her hands over her face.

She opens the door gently, moving silently into the room. The late afternoon light is angled across the bed through the window and she can see her husband’s chest rise and fall. His breathing is still more labored than usual but he seems okay. If it weren’t for the fact that he’s mysteriously three decades younger than when he left, everything would be fine.

He’s sleeping on his side, his face turned to the wall. She moves to that side of the bed, sliding down the wall to sit in the floor and watch him sleep. She hugs her knees to her chest as she studies him.

His hair is thicker, his face smoother. He’s still heavy but lighter than she’s used to. She’s known him for over a hundred years now and neither of them have aged. Sometimes she glamours herself to look like her brother - her twin’s body has the evidence of ten more years of living plus the losses he took in Wonderland - but it’s hardly noticeable compared to the aging all of them should have.

And now he’s a stranger.

Except he’s not. He twitches in his sleep, traces of reaction to whatever he is dreaming flickering over his face. His closed eyes squint tighter for a moment and she knows that look. She’s seen it a hundred times when he’s concentrating on something. He shifts in his sleep and his hand slides up beside him on the pillow. She’s seen that so many times, too.

She wants to climb into the bed with him, put her hand over his and feel him breathing beside her. But she can’t. Because she’s the stranger.

This is bullshit. All they get is a few months together in peace? A few months that they’ve got bodies and memories and aren’t running from some plane devouring cloud monster before this happens? She swipes away angry tears. No. She’s not going to despair. They’ll figure this out.

She hears voices in the main room and knows Taako and Kravitz have arrived. She gets up and lets herself back out of the bedroom.

Kravitz hands her a small object. “Miller said there are different strengths but this is what he had available. He can get others ones if we need.” He looks at Taako. “We didn’t explain and he knew better than to ask. He still owes me.”

Lup shoves the inhaler into her pocket without looking. “He’s sleeping,” she explains. As she secures it in her pocket she finds the ring she placed there earlier. She was afraid to leave it on him, afraid she’d have to explain it when he noticed. She takes off the necklace she’s wearing and slides the ring onto the chain. When the necklace is back around her neck she tucks the ring into her shirt and rubs the shape through the material. It’s warm from her pocket but still feels cold against her chest. This isn’t where it belongs.

“Tell me what you know,” she says in a quiet but insistent voice. “You found him?”

Kravitz nods. “He was wandering in Doverfell. We weren’t getting a trace on him because…” he gestures towards the bedroom, “Well, clearly there were unforeseen circumstances the spell doesn’t account for,” he finishes.

“What did he say? Did he know anything?”

Kravitz shakes his head, the gold adornments in his hair shining in the light. “He didn’t know me, didn’t know where he was or how he got there. He was exhausted and barely coherent. I convinced him I had been asked to find him by his family and he came with me. I didn’t use a portal. I wasn’t sure how that energy might affect whatever this is. I got him back here and settled in and called you.”

“Did he know where he came from or what happened?” she asks.

“He knew the direction but didn’t have a lot of information. I didn’t investigate. It seemed more important to get him home first.” He glances at Taako, “We can do that now, though. I assume you’ll…”

“I’m staying here,” she answers. She crosses to a desk in the corner of the room and grabs a large book and a pen. “But fucking mark where you’re going and stay in contact. I don’t want the same thing happening to you two.”

Taako looks at his sister. “It’s going to be okay, we’ll figure this out.”

“What if it’s still happening,” she asks, her voice bleak. “He was gone for three days and he lost three decades. What if tomorrow he loses another ten? What happens the day after that?”

“Let’s not borrow trouble,” Kravitz says. He taps his stone of far speech. “We’ll be back in an instant if…” he doesn’t finish the sentence, just gestures for his scythe and moves to tear open a portal.

“Mark the book,” she reminds them and heads back into the bedroom.

Kravitz disappears his scythe again and flips through the book. There are maps of different areas of Faerun on each page, some sections magnified to show city streets, others identify topographical markings. Many pages have careful notations in the margins and circles or lines added to the maps. Taako moves to look over his shoulder then takes the book out of his hands.

“It’s Barry’s,” Taako says in a half whisper, flipping through the pages. “From when we were looking for Lup.” Taako shakes his head. “Fuck,” he says. “Ten fucking years of little notes in a book. Why didn’t he burn it when it was over?”

Kravitz looks at Taako. He knows what Taako went though, knows what Lup and Barry each went through. But Taako’s face tells the story like a gut punch: brutal and quick with no softening of the blow unlike the versions he’s been told in carefully chosen words. Taako’s expression belies the gentler variations of the story that the three have told one another to cushion each other’s pain.

Kravitz gently pulls the book out of Taako’s fingers and finds the page with a map of the area Barry had been. He marks the likely locations and adds a few words about each. Dropping the book and pen on the desk, he unravels a feather from his hair. He places the feather between the pages like a bookmark. “That will work better than the tracing spells if she needs to find us,” he tells Taako. “I should have done that for them already. We could have found Barry days ago.”

Taako puts his hand over Kravitz’s cold fingers. “Hey, we’ll have it ready for next time,” the elf consoles him.

Kravtiz nods grimly and re summons his scythe to open a portal for them.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After being missing for three days, Barry has been mysteriously de-aged. Now he looks 20 years old and doesn’t remember anyone. Lup, Kravitz, and Taako are trying to figure things out.

Taako and Kravitz are trekking through a swamp. Or, Kravitz is. Taako is levitating just above the muck, moving himself by using the limbs of the cypress trees that surround them.

When Kravitz slips in the mud for the third time in twenty minutes, Taako makes his offer of levitate yet again. “No, save your spell slots,” Kravitz tells him. “My clothes will come clean.”

They continue on for several minutes. Neither spots any sign of a skirmish or necromantic activity.

“Um, Skeletor?” Taako says thoughtfully, drifting to a halt. “Was there mud on Barry’s clothes?”

“Fuck,” Kravitz says. “I was only thinking of the original intel. That was extremely foolish.” His mouth is a hard line as he studies the sun slanting through the trees. “Well, best we eliminated this area while there was still light,” he says, sounding resolved. His scythe appears in his hand. “Next location,” he states and slices open a portal.

 

 

When they step out of the portal, they are a few feet away from a slim crevice formed by a rockfall. The waning sunlight doesn’t penetrate the passage at all. Taako’s elven dark vision is enough to confirm the space is extremely narrow and creepy as fuck.

“In there?” Taako asks, eyebrows raised. “Why are necromancers always setting up shop in such shitty places? Can’t they rent some office space or something?”

“Well, the good news is… Barry couldn’t have gone in there,” Kravitz points out. “I’d have a tough time managing it in ‘full skeletor mode’ as I believe you’ve called it.”

“Fuck yeah,” Taako says, “Another off the list.” His attitude sobers. “So what if the last place is a bust?”

“We look harder,” Kravitz responds as his scythe appears in his hand.

“Let’s hope ‘third times the charm’ then, my dude,” Taako tells him as he proceeds through the newest portal.

 

 

The third time is not the charm. The sun has nearly disappeared at the horizon now but they don’t need much light to see there’s just nowhere for necromancers to hide their activities.

Taako looks around. “Okay, I’ll give them points for ambience. The dead trees really give it a nice ‘dead and hating it’ vibe. But there’s just nothing here. Did we miss something?”

“I don’t know,” Kravitz answers. “But I think I need to check in at the stockade. His bounty was collected. Maybe they have some answers for us.”

“Answers they’ll have any reason to share?” Taako pointed out.

“I believe the Raven Queen has already considered that. Do you want to return to Lup while I return to the Astral Plane, then?”

Taako nods. “She’s not handling this great. But she’s doing a lot better than I would. Stay out of whatever the fuck Barry found, okay?”

Kravitz opens a portal back to Lup and Barry’s home. He kisses Taako on the forehead and wraps one arm around the elf’s shoulders. “Keep an eye on her. I’ll meet you there as soon as I can.”

“Promise me,” Taako insists. He puts a hand on Kravitz’s cheek.

Kravitz meets Taako’s eyes in a long beat of silence. “Taako, I can’t promise nothing will ever happen to me. But I have been doing this a very long time. And I promise I will always do my best to come back,” he says carefully. “To you.”

Taako nods, accepting his answer. “Guess that’s the best I can hope for.” He kisses Kravitz and enters the portal.

Kravitz closes the portal behind him and opens a new one to the Astral Plane.

 

 

Lup returns to the bedroom and resumes her position on the floor watching her husband sleep. The sun is hugging closer to the horizon and the room is slashed with golden light and lengthening shadows.

But her eyes can handle much less light than human vision. She’s struggling to compare the Barry in front of her now to the one she first saw an hour or so ago. Is he getting younger? If he were losing a decade a day would she be able to see a change in that amount of time? If the loss is gradual it would be roughly five months per hour. Could she notice five months of aging? On her Barry’s face, the face she’s seen nearly every day for a hundred years, she believes she could see such a change. On this face that is familiar but foreign? She doubts she could tell. Kravitz was with him for a while before she got here. Maybe he can tell if there’s a difference when he and Taako get back.

There are questions circling in her mind that she’s desperately unable to avoid. If Barry ages backwards into non existence, is that death? Can he emerge as a lich from that? It’s nothing they’ve ever read about. It would be a fascinating theoretical discussion if it weren’t her husband’s existence on the line. And what of their service to the Raven Queen? Would the Queen’s dominion take precedence and restore him? Lup has no answers for any of these questions.

“Hey,” a voice says.

Lup has been so lost in her thoughts that she is startled by Barry speaking to her.

“Hey,” she manages to respond.

“You’re ‘Lup’ right? That’s what the other guy - Kravitz - called you?”

She nods.

“You look wiped out,” he observes. “Oh, gods, is this your bedroom? He did say he was bringing me back to your house. I’m sorry, I’ll…” He throws back the covers to get up.

“It’s fine,” she reassures him. She leans forward and pulls the blanket out of his hands and smooths it over him. “Elves don’t have to sleep.”

“Oh,” he responds and sinks back against the pillow. “I think I knew that. You… meditate? Were you meditating just now?”

“Not exactly,” she answers with a small smile.

“ _Can_ you sleep?” he asks. “Er, sorry, is that rude?”

“No, it’s not rude. And yes, I can sleep.” She thinks of thousands of nights curled up with him in their bunk or on the couches aboard the Starblaster and far, far fewer in their home, in this bed. “Sleeping is nice, sometimes.”

“Well, if you want to try, there’s plenty of room up here still.” A blush creeps over his face. “Or I can move. I didn’t mean…” He coughs. “You just look like you could use some rest.

The cough reminds her. “Oh, here,” she tells him. She pulls the inhaler out of her pocket and hands it too him. “I don’t know if it’s the right thing but it’s what we could get.”

“Thanks,” he says.

He sits up and uncaps the inhaler. She watches him make motions that are alien to her but clearly second nature to him. He shakes the inhaler, and puffs it into the air. He exhales and then breathes in deeply with the inhaler in his mouth. When he finishes, he recaps the inhaler and puts it on the table by the bed. He leans back on the pillow. After a few moments he exhales again. “Thanks, that helps,” he tells her.

“You should get some more sleep. I don’t think you’ve gotten more than an hour’s sleep in the last few days,” Lup tells him. “I can go,” she offers reluctantly. “I didn’t mean to bother you.”

“No,” he answers quickly. “Please. Don’t go.” He turns on his side again to look at her.

“Okay,” she agrees and leans back against the wall in relief. She drapes one arm over her raised knees in front of her. She rolls her shoulders and rubs a hand over the back of her neck.

“You look exhausted. Not that you look bad! I mean, you look gorgeous. Oh gods, I… well, come on, obviously you’re beautiful,” he admits, darting his eyes away from her. He coughs and stops to take another slow, deep breath. When he continues he can only manage to look at a place on the wall beside her and his face is burning with embarrassment. “Have you slept in the last few days?”

“I told you elf rest works differently,” she answers, amused.

“That’s not an answer,” he points out, meeting her eyes briefly. He looks away immediately but a shy smile blooms on his face.

It’s the smile that does it. His face might be missing the years and lines she is familiar with but it’s the smile she knows so well that spreads on his face. She wants to run her fingers over his mouth and trace it. She’s had a body again for just a little while. She’s not touched him nearly enough in that time. “No, I haven’t slept,” she answers fondly. “Or meditated.”

“Well the offer stands,” he says quietly. “I mean, it’s your bed. You’re welcome to …” he stops talking and covers his face with his hand. “I’m going to be quiet now. But you know what I meant.”

 _All those years on the Starblaster and I never noticed how often he got embarrassed around me?_ she thinks. Then she immediately answers her own question. _Except, I did notice. I pretended it wasn’t happening the same way I ignored my own feelings. I wasted so much time,_ she thinks, and her stomach feels packed with lead. _So, fine. If he’s going to… If something is going to happen then I can lay beside him for a little while first._

“Okay,” she answers.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After being missing for three days, Barry has been mysteriously de-aged. Now he looks 20 years old and doesn’t remember anyone. Lup, Kravitz, and Taako are trying to figure things out.

Lup and Barry’s house is dark as Taako enters through the portal. He glances around but it doesn’t take an investigation check to know Lup is in the bedroom.

Taako opens the bedroom door and leans into the room just far enough to spot them. Lup and Barry are asleep on the bed and curled together as naturally as always. Her arm is thrown over her husband’s side and Barry’s hands curl around her arm like a lifeline. Lup’s head is against his shoulder and Barry’s face turns back towards her even in sleep. Over the years he’s seen the pair exhausted and konked out more times than he can count, always wound together in some variation like this.

Taako backs out of the room and silently closes the door. He finds it difficult to breathe. _Shoulda gotten a spare inhaler from Miller_ , he tells himself and the thought is enough to push the lump down in his throat. He wants to pull out his stone of far speech and talk to Kravitz, reassure himself the reaper is okay. But it’s been two minutes. He has to trust Kravitz can do his job.

The other impulse - the one telling him the easiest way to never lose Kravitz is to not care about him - he tells that line of thinking to fuck right off. _I’ve work to do,_ he forcefully reminds himself. _Deal with that bullshit later._

Taako moves into the kitchen. It’s the farthest room from the bedroom so it makes the best place for him to work. Lup’s kitchen isn’t as large or nice as his but it’s still comforting. He’s still not sure how he feels about cooking. The truth he was given by the Temporal Chalice hasn’t caught up to his brain when it comes to actually making - much less sharing - food. But some of the happiest times in his life have been in a kitchen. He’ll draw on what he can. Taako pulls out his stone of far speech but it’s not Kravitz he calls.

“Hello, sir!” a chipper voice responds instantly. “How are you?”

“Not great, Ango,” Taako says honestly. “So look. I know Lup and Barry have been way too open with you about their work. And you probably have more than a few books that Kravitz wouldn’t be thrilled to know about. But this might be the moment they come in handy. I’m hoping you can help with some research.”

“Of course, sir!”

“Okay, here’s what I need,” Taako explains.

 

 

Whatever Kravitz was expecting of the newest bounty in the Eternal Stockade, this middle age, pleasant looking half elf woman isn’t it.

“Wow,” she says. “You’re Kravitz! First I get to meet _the_ Barry Bluejeans and now I meet Kravitz? Oh my gods, is _Lup_ with you?” The woman looks around as if Lup might have slipped past her notice.

“No,” Kravitz responds. He’s not sure he’s ever met such a cheerful bounty outside Taako’s strange family. He’s certainly never seen anyone so cheerful in the Stockade.

“Do you really know Taako?” she asks. “And the rest of the seven birds?” She doesn’t wait for Kravitz to answer before she’s reacting. “That is just so cool! They’re amazing.”

“Look,” Kravitz says, trying to take control of this strange conversation. “Do you understand why you are here? What this place is?”

“Yeah!” she answers with a grin. “This is the stockade. You and Barry and Lup put bad guys here.” She looks around. “It’s not really what I expected. It’s just a _room_ ,” she finishes with obvious disappointment. “So yeah, I’m ready to go now.”

Her response surprises him so much he can only sputter, “Excuse me?”

“I thought Barry would have come back by now. Or that other guy,” she tells him, again looking around for anyone who might be hidden behind Kravitz.

“What ‘other guy’ would that be?” Kravitz asks.

“The one who set this up,” she tells him as if this is obvious. “So I could meet you guys.”

“Was he with Barry?”

“Oh, no. I met him before, like… a couple weeks ago? I’m not real sure. This place… time is kind of weird here, huh?”

“What did this person look like?” Kravitz asks.

“Oh, he was this real old guy. Kinda scraggly hair? A bit weird, but real polite. There was a buncha us talking in the pub - The Hangman’s Daughter it’s called, real nice place - and he told us he worked with a couple of the birds. Seda and Donovan didn’t believe him but I talked to him some after they left and he said he’d set it up so I could meet all of you!”

Kravitz crosses his arms. ‘Real old guy’ wasn’t a helpful description. If this person were in the employ of the Raven Queen they’d have chosen a different aspect. He’d never met anyone in Her employ who appeared ‘real old’ even if they died at an advanced age. Most people chose the physical aspect of their happiest, healthiest time.

“Did he give you his name?”

“Oh, golly, I don’t think so. If he did I forgot it. That’s awful rude of me. I’ll be real honest, though, we were drinking a lot that night.”

“And have you seen him since being delivered to the Astral Plane?”

She shakes her head. “Nope, just Barry and now you.”

“So you’re telling me you aren’t a necromancer?”

The woman’s eyes go wide. “A necromancer? Me? Oh gosh, no! I mean I played Zombies when I was a kid like anyone else and I probably wished real hard that my dog would come back after he died - he was a real sweet dogs, Scraps was - but I didn’t _do_ anything about it.”

Kravitz doesn’t need Zone of Truth or his acute perception to know this woman is telling him the truth. The stockade is made of magics strong enough to prevent such a performance unless it were true.

“I can’t release you,” Kravitz tells the woman. “But I will be back.”

“Okay,” she tells him congenially. “Oh and tell Barry ‘hi’ for me. He sure was nice.”

Kravitz walks out of the Eternal Stockade. What in the Raven Queen’s name is going on?

 

 

Lup hears Taako talking. _Damn, were we supposed to do something?_ she wonders. She snuggles closer to her husband. _And I was having the weirdest dream_ . She can’t quite remember it, just enough impression lingers to remind her of the downside of sleeping versus meditating. _But meditating doesn’t come with snuggles,_ she reasons, turning her head to kiss Barry’s jaw. _Time to get up before Taako busts in here and wakes Barry up, too._

Barry stirs.

“Go back to sleep, babe. Sorry I woke you,” she whispers, trying to extricate her arm without disturbing him.

He clutches tighter to her, protesting sleepily.

 _Fuck._ Coherence falls on Lup like a load of bricks. She is instantly, painfully aware of the situation. She pulls free of Barry quickly, cold misery flooding over her. She flees from the room.

Taako is in the kitchen and she crosses the distance in a few strides to throw her arms around him.

“Ango, I gotta go. Let me know if you find anything,” he says before dropping his stone of far speech on the counter and wrapping his arms around his twin.

“Lulu?” he asks. “Did… did something happen?”

“I fell asleep and when I woke up I didn’t… Taako, for a second,” she says into his hair, the words hard to decipher through her anguish, “for a second it was just me waking up with Barry like normal and then…then it all came back.”

Taako rubs her back. “We’re gonna figure this out,” he promises.

She releases him and steps back, wiping her eyes. “What did you and Kravitz find out,” she asks in a shaky voice. “Did you see anything?”

“Lup, we found nothing. Which I guess is actually something.”

“What does that mean?” she responds.

“I don’t know,” he answers. “But what’s more suspicious than _nothing_?”


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After being missing for three days, Barry has been mysteriously de-aged. Now he looks 20 years old and doesn’t remember anyone. Lup, Kravitz, and Taako are trying to figure things out.

“No,” Lup tells Taako, “Nothing sounds like nothing.”

“Lup I mean really nothing, nada, zip, zero, zilch. Not ‘we didn’t find any traps’ - we didn’t find any necromancy _ at all _ . No bones, no runes, no mystical fires, no lingering stench of the damned, nothing.”

“But he collected the bounty, he had to have found something.”

Taako shrugs. “Krav went to talk to the bounty so guess we’ll see.”

“It just makes no sense,” Lup says. “Maybe he was cleaning things up when the trap was set off? So he was hit but the area was scrubbed?”

Taako just gives her a look. “Don’t you think Kravitz would have noticed like… creepy lich residue or something?”

Lup ignores his attempted jibe. “Probably?” she offers. “But isn’t it a possibility?” She shakes her head with a frown. “I don’t know.” She sighs and changes the subject. “What were you talking to Angus about?”

“I went for his strong suit: asked him to hit the books for us.”

“Is that wise? He’s a kid.” She shakes her head again. “Nevermind. If you hadn’t called him he probably would have found out and gotten involved anyway. At least with book research he should be safe. Better than whatever else he’d come up with to try, anyway.”

“Exactly my plan,” Taako answers.

Lup is silent. She scrapes her fingers through her hair, sending her already wild curls into greater chaos. “I think we need to tell him.”

“I told him enough,” Taako answers. “He couldn’t research it unless I told him something.”

“I don’t mean Angus,” Lup explains, looking at her brother.

Taako raises his eyebrows. “You mean tell Barry? Why?”

“Because it’s not right keeping it from him. This isn’t like the void fish where he literally wouldn’t be able to hear the truth. He’s a grown man who deserves to have all the information. It’s his life. If it were you or me wouldn’t you want to have all the information?”

“Lup, what if he doesn’t stay an adult?”

Her face falls. “Then it won’t fucking matter, will it?”

 

 

“My Queen,” Kravitz says, “I need to speak with you privately. There is a matter of extreme delicacy that I must share.”

The Raven Queen’s court is empty beyond the two of them but after he speaks she glances around the room and the entrances disappear.

“I believe we have a traitor,” he tells her. He explains what has happened to Barry and what he’s learned while investigating.

“THIS IS BEYOND DISTRESSING,” the Raven Queen responds, her voice filling the hall with her rage. “THAT SOMEONE WOULD DARE ATTEMPT TO HARM ONE OF MY CHOSEN, IT WILL NOT BE BORNE.”

“In this situation, what might happen to Barry? If he is still aging backwards, will he…?”

“I’M AFRAID HE IS NOW IN THE HANDS OF THE LADY FATE, UNFORTUNATELY. THIS HAS PUT HIM BEYOND THE BOUNDS OF HIS TRESPASSES AGAINST THE NATURAL ORDER AS WELL AS HIS AGREEMENT TO MY SERVICE.”

“So if he dies?”

“HIS SOUL WILL JOIN THE OTHERS AS IT WAS ORIGINALLY INTENDED.”

“And if he continues to age in reverse and is unborn?”

“HE MAY BE REBORN OR HE MAY JOIN THE OTHERS. IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO KNOW.”

“But, Lup…” he begins, already thinking of how he could possibly give her this news.

“I WILL GRIEVE FOR HER IF THIS HAPPENS AS I WILL GRIEVE FOR ANY HURT TO ONE OF MY OWN. BUT THIS IS THE ORDER OF THINGS.”

Kravitz frowns. “Yes, my Queen.”

“KRAVITZ.”

“Yes?”

“WHEN YOU FIND WHO IS RESPONSIBLE, YOU WILL REND THEM FROM EXISTENCE.”

“Yes,” he agrees. “I will.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After being missing for three days, Barry has been mysteriously de-aged. Now he looks 20 years old and doesn’t remember anyone. Lup, Kravitz, and Taako are trying to figure things out.

“Lulu, I just don’t know if telling him is a good idea.”

“Taako, how can you say that? He’s  _ Barry _ . He’s my husband. He’s your friend!”

“He’s not, though.” He leans in, eyes narrowing. “Right now? He’s  _ none _ of those things.”

Lup sucks in a breath. She wraps her arms around her chest and her eyes dart away from her twin, unable to look at him.

Taako reaches out to her, places one hand lightly on her upper arm, “I’m not trying to hurt you. But he’s… he’s not that person. We don’t know this dude. He’s someone we never met, someone years before the guy we knew.”

Lup jerks her arm free of Taako’s touch. Her eyes meet his and they are red and threatening tears but the look she gives him is made of steel and fire. “Don’t talk about him in the past tense.”

Taako takes a deep breath. “I’m sorry,” he says softly. “I didn’t mean to.”

“What if it were Kravitz?” she asks, her voice softening. “Would you…”

“If that were Krav I’d let him go live his 20 year old life free of being the fucking grim reaper and free of my fucking drama, free of all…” he gestures wildly, “THIS! Let him have the life he planned.”

“You can’t mean that. Do you really think that’s what he’d want?”

He shakes his head. “I don’t know. It doesn’t matter. This isn’t about…”

“It kind of is, though. You’re telling me you’d not only keep information from him but also make that decision for him? Taako, that’s fucked up.”

“Okay, fine, my relationship isn’t as perfect as yours.”

“Fucking hell, Taako, I’m not saying anything like that. I’m saying you… Taako, you’ve got to deal with this or it’s gonna hurt you both.”

“Let’s talk about this later. Or never. Never is fine too,” his jaw is tense, expression hard.

“Fine. For now,” she agrees. “But I’m telling Barry.”

“Fine. Your call,” he answers with a shrug, expression unwavering.

“Taako, can you… I need you, okay?”

“I’m right here.”

“You’re here but…” Lup’s shoulders tense. She takes in a deep breath and holds it as she focuses on the floor. “Taako, I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you.”

Taako instantly softens. “Lup, that’s not… you didn’t…”

“If I’d been there things would have been different. You had to deal with everything alone and it’s made you… I don’t know. Angry? Defensive?”

“Lulu, you know I was always…”

“Not like this, no, you weren’t. You went through shit and you did it alone so maybe it’s not fair for me to ask but, Taako, I need you.”

“You don’t have to ask.”

“If something happens to him…” her shoulders fall, her face crumples. 

“See, that’s… If I’m… It’s… You’re hurting and I can’t stop that.” Taako’s hands curl into fists. “We always protected each other but I can’t…” 

“No one can! Yes, I’m scared. I’m terrified of losing him. But it’s still worth it.”

“Is it, though?”

“Yes! Fuck, Taako, how can you ask that?”

“How can  _ you _ ask  _ that _ ?”

 

 

Kravitz enters the living room through a portal, pausing just long enough to see the twins facing off in the kitchen. Their posture is not reassuring. “Did…”

Lup turns to face Kravitz but Taako turns away to stare at the sink. 

“No,” Lup tells Kravitz. “The same, I think. Can you look in on him, though? See if he seems younger than when you found him?”

“Of course,” Kravitz agrees. 

He eyes them both for a moment before turning to the bedroom door. Taako’s shoulders are stiff and there’s no way an empty sink is this fascinating.

Kravitz eases open the door and looks into the room. The room is dark but a small light glows in the far corner. There are similar lights in Taako’s home. Darkvision or no, Lup doesn’t like the dark much anymore. Kravitz edges around the bed and stares at the sleeping form in front of him. Barry turns over in his sleep, reaching across the empty side of the bed as he shifts. After a moment he’s still again, slipping back into deep sleep. Kravitz frowns. He’s not sure how to interpret Barry’s movement. Instinctive? Residual? Is the Barry they know trapped inside somehow? 

He returns to the main room, pulling the door softly closed behind him. “The same, I think,” he tells Lup who’s tense form sags with relief at his words. “I’m not sure any of my other news is as good,” he cautions.

Lup’s relief disappears. “What did you…”

“Well, first, that necromancer was no necromancer.”

“What?” Lup says, stunned. “Did he get the wrong person somehow?”

“No,” Kravitz says, shaking his head. “And I think he knew something was up. I think that’s why…” he gestures instead of finishing his sentence. “I think it was one of ours.”

Taako enters from the kitchen, disbelief clear on his face. “Are you saying a  _ reaper _ did this?”

Kravitz nods, “Nothing is certain at the moment but, yes, the Queen and I believe so.”

“You saw the Raven Queen? Did she…”

“Lup,” Kravitz says and the gentleness gives her almost all the information she needs. 

“She’s not going to save him,” she says, her voice is flat. 

“She said he’s in the hands of Lady Istus now.”

“And if he…” Taako asks.

“Barry is beyond his trespass and his bond. If he…” Kravitz takes a long breath he doesn’t need before forcing himself to finish. “If he dies he will join the Sea of Souls.”

“Fuck. That.” Lup says. Her mouth is hard and her eyes are blazing with fury.

“Lup, you can’t…” Kravitz begins.

“Watch me,” she says, flames crackling from both hands. “We’re getting our fucking happy ending.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After being missing for three days, Barry has been mysteriously de-aged. Now he looks 20 years old and doesn’t remember anyone. Lup, Kravitz, and Taako are trying to figure things out.

The fire wreathing Lup’s hands gutters out as the bedroom door opens. Barry - young, barefoot, in jeans that are too big even for his large frame - steps out, still fumbling his glasses into place.

The three of them are instantly silent.

“Um, sorry to interrupt. Is… Lup, is everything okay?”

“You remember me!” Lup says. She crosses to Barry and wraps her arms around him in a tight hug.

“Uh,” Barry says, blushing, “yeah, we met, um… earlier?”

“Sorry,” she says, releasing him from the hug. A weird hybrid between a laugh and a sob escapes. “It’s just… it’s good news.”

“If he remembers me from over an hour ago then it’s not getting worse,” she insists. “It’s holding.”

“Lup… Can we finish talking about this before you…”

“Ba…Sildar, this is my twin brother, Taako.”

“Nice to meet you,” Barry says. Lup still has an arm around him and he is both hyper aware of the fact and reluctant to do anything about it.

“Yeah, it’s chill,” Taako answers distractedly before returning his attention to his sister. “Lup?”

“We can all talk in a minute. As soon as everyone knows what’s going on,” Lup insists. She turns to Barry. “Can we talk?”

“Sure,” he says, concern flashing across his face. His looks at Kravitz and Taako for any hint of what is going on.

Lup glances at Kravitz and Taako then returns her attention to Barry. “Let’s go back in here for a moment,” she suggests.

“Okay,” he agrees, letting her usher him back into the bedroom. She closes the door behind her and activates the lights.

Voices murmur on the other side of the door, catching Barry’s attention. He eyes the door before returning his gaze to Lup. “Did something happen?”

“I have to tell you some stuff,” she says calmly. She resolutely ignores the voices raising behind her and leads Barry to sit on the bed. They sit next to each other and she turns, angling one knee on the bed so she can face him.

“So, all you know is that you were wandering, right?”

“Yeah, I don’t know why I was out there. Wait, do you know?”

“I do,” she tells him. She takes his hands in hers. “You were there for… work,” she begins, easing into the explanation.

“Work? I don’t…”

“This is going to get more confusing before it gets better,” she warns.

“Okay,” he says. He looks down at their joined hands. “Oh,” he says. “I didn’t…” he says and tries to pull his hands back.

“What?” she asks, not quite releasing his hands.

“I just… I didn’t realize you were married,” he says, looking at her ring.

“Oh,” she says, surprised. “Yeah, um… that’s part of the explanation, actually.” She takes a deep breath. “We’re married. You and me.”

Barry frowns. Hurt blooms across his face that he’s terrible at trying to hide. He pulls his hands free of hers, yanking them clear of her touch. “Okay, sure. Thanks. I don’t know who put you up to all this but it’s… it’s not very funny.”

“Barry,” she says, “I’m serious.”

He stands up, “Yeah, okay and who the hell is ‘Barry’ anyway? Is he part of this joke?”

“Babe,” she tells him, her voice soft. “This isn’t a joke. I swear it on… Anything you can think of, I swear on that.”

Barry shakes his head, “No, I don’t…” He shakes his head harder. “This is ridiculous.” He turns away, looks around the room, trying to find something that will explain what is going on.

“Your mother’s name was Marlena. You probably just lost her in the last year or two. Your father Gregor died when you were very young. You can’t have milk and you didn’t know how to swim until my brother taught you.”

“I don’t know your brother,” he insists. “But anyone could have told you the rest of that stuff.”

“The first time I kissed you, you told me that was the last first kiss you ever wanted,” she continues.

“I’ve never… we’ve never…” he says, his protests softer.

“We spent a long time running and fighting and when all of that was finally over we got married as soon as we could because we’d spent so long waiting.”

“We’re not…” he says and his voice is almost a whisper.

“About the time we first met there was a typo on your name on something and it said ‘Barry’ instead of ‘Darry’ for nickname and… it just stuck. Mostly because of me and Taako,” she admits with a small smile, “but later you said you loved it because you already felt like a whole new person so a new name just fit. You’ve been ‘Barry Bluejeans’ for…” she cuts herself off, before finishing, “a really long time now.”

“‘Barry Bluejeans,’ are you kidding me? You… somehow you almost had me believing this whole…” he gestures, then shakes his head again. “I’m so stupid. I thought… I thought you might actually like me. You seemed so kind and when you looked at me…” he stops, shakes his head again but this time angrily. “I should have known better.”

“I do,” she insists, getting up to stand in front of him. “I love you. I’ve been in love with you for longer than you’d ever believe. I’m telling you the truth.”

“It’s impossible,” he says again.

Lup reaches up and pulls her necklace out from under her shirt. “You were wearing this but I took it off so it wouldn’t scare you,” she says, holding the ring up for him to see. “I shouldn’t have done that. I should have told you the second I saw you but I was so scared. You’d been gone for three days and not answering on your stone and we were - I was frantic. We’d… we’d already been separated way too long once before.”

Barry stares at the ring. “I… I did have a ring on but I didn’t understand…” He’s caught for a moment, mesmerized. “Then I thought I lost it or imagined it. It didn’t make any sense, anyway.” He shakes his head again, “No, this is just… No.”

“Something happened to you out there. We don’t know exactly what. But… it made you younger, made you forget. How old do you think you are?”

“I’m 22,” he says, “But this is…this is ridiculous,” he insists. “Something made me younger? Made me forget I’m married to a gorgeous…” he gestures then realizing what he’s said, blushes, “married to you and I’m supposed to be…” He stops and takes off his glasses. As he looks at the glasses all the fight melts out of him and he sinks to the bed.

He looks up at her and her heart feels like it’s cracking in two. He’s scared and it’s terrible to see fear on his face but… he’s scared because he’s starting to believe her. “My glasses,” he tells her. “They’ve been bothering me. The prescription is too strong.”

She kneels in front of him and takes the glasses out of his hands, sets them on the bed beside him. She wraps her hands with his. “We’re gonna figure this out, babe.”


	8. Chapter 8

“What happened,” Kravitz asks as soon as Lup shuts the door.

Taako shrugs and looks away, “She’s just worried about her man,” he says mildly.

“Yeah, I think I’ve mention this before, Taako, but I’ve been around a _really long time._ Which means I absolutely was not born yesterday.”

“Things got a little heated. You know Lup and fire…”

“Taako,” Kravitz says again. “If you don’t want to talk about it then tell me that but please don’t act like I’m stupid or imagining things.”

“Fine,” Taako says, his voice coming out louder than he intended. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

Kravitz watches the elf for a moment. His jaw clenches as he considers his words. “I don’t like pushing you on things, Taako. I keep reminding myself that I don’t want to ask for more than you’re willing to give. But you won’t look at me and it’s chiming all sorts of alarm bells. Just tell me: should I be worried?”

Taako raises his face to the reaper but only meets his eyes for a moment. “I don’t know,” he mumbles.

“Okay.” Kravitz says. He rubs his chin with his knuckles. “Alright then. Well. Thank you for being honest.”

“Krav…”

“It’s okay, Taako, I’m serious. Thank you for being honest. Can I just ask one thing? A favor, of sorts?”

Taako’s voice is hesitant and the word comes slowly, “Ooo-kay?”

“Will you talk to me before you decide anything?” He looks at the elf and a gentle, sad smile appears for a moment. “I love you, Taako. Knowing you has awakened parts of me that I thought were just… gone. But if this is too much…” He stops talking and looks away. “I want to fight for you, for _us_. But if that’s not what you want…” He takes a long, deep breath. “Anyway, sorry, now is not the time and you didn’t want to talk about this. So.”

The silence lengthens between them awkwardly.

“So do you know who did it?” Taako asks.

At the same time Kravitz speaks, “How is Lup holding up?”

“She’s Lup,” Taako answers first. “She was trapped in an umbrella for ten fucking years. I think she can handle anything.” Taako rubs one eyebrow, trying to massage away some of the tension. “I’m not sure she thinks that right now, though. Or maybe it’s the other way round? She thinks she can handle anything and I’m worried she can’t? I don’t know. It’s been a rough time and things were just beginning to…” He looks at Kravitz. “They just got each other back, you know?”

“I do know,” Kravitz answers.

“She’s telling him right now,” Taako blurts. “Who he is and all that.”

“I assumed,” Kravitz responds mildly.

“And you think that’s a good idea?”

“I think he deserves to have all the information. But she’d be the best one to determine that.”

Taako shakes his head. “I don’t get you two. Right now he’s clear of the Raven Queen. You said this means he’s not even a lich anymore!”

“Do you think he’d choose to give up Lup, to give up all of you as family just to be free of those things?”

“If he doesn’t know…” Taako stops talking.

“You see it now, don’t you?” Kravitz asks, his voice gentle.

“Yes, I fucking see it. Played myself, didn’t I?” he asks bitterly.

“I suspect I know how that happened,” Kravitz says. “You weren’t thinking of Barry now or what Lucretia did to you. You were thinking of what happened to me.”

“But, wouldn’t you want that chance? To do the things you never…”

Kravitz interrupts him and his calm and mild tone is edged with frustration. “You think I’d want to throw away love and family and _you_ for the chance to pick up the ashes of a life I barely remember living?”

“But if you didn’t know…”

“Then I’d want to be told. I’d want to be respected enough to have all the pieces shared with me. I’d want to be given a say in the decision. And, Taako, my decision would be to stay.” Kravitz reaches for him, pulls him into a loose embrace. “Love, I don’t know how many ways I can try to tell you this: you are not a burden I was tricked into nor a curse I need to be freed from. If you don’t want to be with me that’s one thing but please stop deciding that I don’t want to be with you, okay?”

Taako’s tense posture eases as Kravitz speaks. “No promises,” he tells the reaper. “Cha’boys good at a lot of things but this stuff… not a strong suit.”

“And I’m out of practice. But we’re in this together, okay?”

“Yeah, fair enough,” Taako answers and kisses his jaw. “Figures. My sister’s world is going to shit and I figure a way to make it about me.”

“You’re not making it about you, love. This is tough on everyone and it’s bringing up stuff.”

“Well, we need to get to the part where we murder whoever did this. All this emotional vulnerability is making my spell fingers itchy.”

“What does that even mean?”

“It means I’m ready to blow up some fools.”

“You’re not the only one,” Kravitz agrees. “I suspect there may be a line once we find out who’s responsible.”

Taako slides out of Kravitz’s arms. “You don’t know who did this?”

Kravitz shakes his head. “Not yet. Let’s go over it all once Lup’s back.”

“And the nerd formerly known as Barold,” Taako adds. “Please tell me I don’t have to call him ‘Sildar.’ I forgot his nickname was actually _less_ ridiculous.”

“We’ll have to see,” Kravitz answers. “I guess it’s up to him.”

Taako snorts. “Why? He didn’t pick what we called him the first time.”

 

The bedroom door opens. “Okay,” Lup announces as she enters the room, hand in hand with Barry. “We’re not quite up to speed but I think we need you guys to really get into the rest of the story.”

“There’s _more?_ ” Barry asks nervously.

“Babe, we haven’t even gotten to the unbelievable parts yet.”


	9. Chapter 9

“Okay, seriously?” Barry asks for at least the twentieth time. He laughs and if there is a slight edge of hysteria in it, he’s earned it by this point. “The Starblaster? We traveled between planes on a ship powered by… friendship? Called the Starblaster? I mean at this point you guys are either telling the truth or just the worst liars ever.”  
  
“Babe, I know this sounds silly but it is true. Wait!” she turns to Kravitz. “Would he still know how to play piano?”  
  
“Lup, the Raven Queen said this undoes him being a lich, I don’t think he got to retain his piano skills.”  
  
“A what now?” Barry asks. “Did you say ‘lich’ because it sounded like you said ‘lich’…”  
  
“Um, yeah, so…” Lup says, putting on a big apology smile with lots of teeth and wide eyes. “Uh… you and I became liches. Which was good while we were running from the Hunger and had to make sure someone could always get the ship out but, uh, it did have downsides.”  
  
“Downsides?” Kravitz says, raising one eyebrow. “That’s putting it mildly. But the Raven Queen forgave that in exchange for you becoming reapers.”  
  
“Reapers…” Barry repeats. His eyes are beginning to glaze over.  
  
“Look, stick with us just a little longer here, okay, Barry?” Taako interrupts. “Because here’s the important part. We’re gonna figure out who did this and _fix it_ .”  
  
“And how do we do that?” Barry asks. He’s still holding Lup’s hand which all of them take as a good sign.  
  
Lup and Taako turn to Kravitz. “Um… Any ideas on that?” Lup asks Kravitz.  
  
“Well, I think our answers are going to be on the Astral Plane but…” Kravitz’s eyes dart to Barry where he sits on the couch next to Lup. He squeezes Taako’s fingers as he forces himself to proceed. “I’m unsure how being on the Astral Plane - or even passing through our portals - might affect him. Er, you, Barry.” Kravitz amends, looking at him. “Or, Sildar?”  
  
“Sildar,” he answers. He looks at Lup, worried, “Do you mind?”  
  
“If that’s what you want, babe. It’s your name, your decision. I’ve called you Barry for more than a hundred years so I’ll probably slip up and I apologize for that but yeah, whatever you want.” She grins then adds, “I respect your wishes, Sildar.”  
  
He squeezes her hand and smiles. “Thank you.”  
  
“Can I still call you ‘babe’ though?”  
  
He blushes and nods.  
  
“Good, then we’re cool, babe.”  
  
Taako coughs. “Okay…” He makes a face before he continues, “Sildar, you’re a scientist. Any ideas how to test this? Preferably without melting your face off.” Taako shrugs, “‘Less you’re cool with that.”  
  
Barry - Sildar - blanches. “Without samples to test… I suppose it comes down to just… trying it? Maybe putting an arm through or…” He shakes his head. “This isn’t like anything I’ve ever studied. Portal science and… Well, planar theory is something I’m interested in but haven’t taken classes in it yet.” He looks embarrassed. “After mom died I tried to focus on more … lucrative sciences instead of theoretical.”  
  
“Well, that won’t last,” Taako says dismissively. “You get there eventually. Shame though, we could have used that right about now.”  
  
“So we try it,” Sildar says, squaring his shoulders. “If that’s where we need to be…”  
  
“No,” Lup says, pulling his hand into her lap to wrap it in both of her own. “We can do this without risking…”  
  
Sildar shakes his head and places his other hand on both of Lup’s. “I’m part of this, right?”  
  
Lup turns her head away from him and blinks back fearful tears. She nods.  
  
“Lup?” Taako asks, “We don’t have to…” He glances at Sildar and back to his sister. “Krav and I can check things out more. You guys could stay here…”  
  
“No,” she answers, swallowing. “I’m not making his decisions for him.”  
  
“Thank you,” Sildar says gratefully. He slides his hands free of hers and stands. “Let’s get this over with,” he says.  
  
“You sure?” Lup asks quietly, rising to stand beside her husband.  
  
“Someone told me I’m a badass,” Sildar tells her, his voice holding more surety than his expression. “Time to put it to the test.”  
  
“Badass might be overstating it a bit,” Taako interjects as he and Kravitz stand.  
  
Lup cuts a look at her brother. “Okay, babe, here goes.”  
  
With a flick of her wrist Lup’s scythe appears. A deft motion slices a hole in space between their living room and kitchen and through the portal they can see the Astral Plane. To Lup, Kravitz, and Taako the view is familiar, almost routine. To Sildar it’s fascinating. He steps closer to it and peers carefully through it then walks around it to view it from other angles.  
  
He returns to Lup’s side. “Huh,” is all he says.  
  
“Ready?” she asks.  
  
“We’ll go through first,” Kravitz says. He and Taako step through to wait on the Astral Plane for them.  
  
Sildar steps forward. He wipes his hands on his too loose jeans and raises his arm towards the portal. He’s trembling and he pulls the arm back to shake it out nervously. “Okay,” he says mostly to himself. “Here goes.”  
  
He reaches out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope the name shift makes sense. It feels like if he decides he wants them to refer to him as Sildar then that's how he should be referred to in the narrative as well.


	10. Chapter 10

Sildar’s fingers pass through the bounds of Lup’s portal and it’s as if a star goes supernova in the space. Light crashes through both sides of the portal, splintering through the room around Sildar and Lup. She grabs his other hand to pull him back but he’s frozen, completely immovable. His face is etched in pain, eyes wide and unseeing, mouth a torn grimace of agony.

“Push him through!” Kravitz yells from the other side. “Get him on this side NOW!”

Lup changes position, struggling to push him forward instead of pulling him back. “Babe, can you hear me?” she pleads, “Help me.”

He’s still frozen, a statue with one arm disappearing into an explosion of light. Lup’s heart nearly stops as she realizes his skin is shimmering in a familiar way: the way bodies do as their souls are cut free. _But he’s alive!_ Lup thinks with horror, _This can’t…_

“Go!” she screams at him, “You have to go through!”

She can’t see Kravitz or Taako through the portal for the light erupting around her and Sildar. Another sick twist of fear grips her as she realizes something else; the light is no longer coming from just the place where his fingers breach the portal. Now it’s seeping from his skin, his eyes, his mouth, everywhere on him.

“This isn’t working!” she screams through the portal. “Let go of him!” she yells, “I’m gonna…” she doesn’t finish the thought, just wraps her hand around his and casts Plane Shift to pull them to the Astral Plane.

She is propelled into the demispace between the Material Plane and the Astral and feels his essence wrenching away from her like it’s tied to an anchor that can’t break loose. She uses all her will and determination and every desperate ounce of strength to summon him through with her. For one interminable moment it seems impossible. In that space between planes she screams in a voice that isn’t a voice, “I won’t lose you!” Softly, in a whisper of sound that isn’t sound she hears him respond as if from a great distance, “Lup…”

The hold on him breaks at last and they crash to the ground on the Astral Plane near Kravitz and Taako.

Lup scrambles to his side. He’s lying face down and the light is still pouring out of him. “Kravitz,” she begs, “help me.”

“Talk to him,” Kravitz commands. His scythe appears in his hands and he uses it to tear through thousands of cobweb-like strands that connect to Sildar and stretch out into the boundless space around them. The threads are pulling at him, pulling at the light still bleeding away from him.

“Babe,” Lup demands, “I told you I’m not losing you but you have to hold on to me too. Wherever you are you have to listen to me and come back, right now. I…” Lup’s voice is thick with tears even here on the Astral Plane where tears and air are only instinct. Lup struggles to turn him over and pull him into her lap.

Taako kneels beside his sister and brother-in-law. “Hey!” Taako says in a voice more suited to rebuking an unwelcome interloper in his kitchen than speaking to a friend whose very soul is draining away in front of their eyes. “If you even think of disappearing I’m never gonna forgive you. So unless you want that on your shoulders, you better get your shit together right now.”

“Babe,” Lup says again and again, “Babe, please.” She’s rocking him in her lap, clutching him tightly to her.

Kravitz finishes severing the fibers and joins them at his side. “This is up to you,” he informs Sildar. “You have to fight.”

“Fight,” Lup repeats. “Fight this right now and come back to me,” she demands.

Time moves differently in the Astral Plane. Some moments are years, some years are moments. Both measures of time seem to pass before they are rewarded with a ragged, “Lup…”

Taako sags back with relief and Lup barks out a strangled laugh. “Fuck, you scared me,” she manages to say, swiping the back of her hand across her eyes. “ _Fuck_.”

“That test failed,” he tells her weakly. The light pooling around him and the shimmer beneath his skin have disappeared but he looks muted somehow - far more pale than usual.

“I’m starting to think you’re not a very good scientist after all,” Taako informs him as he stands and adjusts his hat. “No more science for you today,” he adds.

“Deal,” Sildar responds.

“What the _fuck_ was that, Kravitz? Was that what I think…”

Kravitz meets her eyes and gives her a single, small nod.

“What?” Taako asks.

“His soul,” Lup says, helping her husband slowly stand.

“ _What?_ ” Sildar asks.

“That light,” she answers softly. “It was your soul.” Lup pulls Sildar’s hand into hers again. His color is returning but he still seems faded. She rubs her hands over his as if warming his fingers will help somehow.

“Krav, I’ve been with you on a job and it was nothing like _that_ ,” Taako insists.

“Not for our usual jobs, no,” Kravitz answers. “Not for bounties.”

“So a _regular death_ looks like that?”

“No,” Kravitz answers again. “That was…explosive. That was his soul being torn out while he’s still alive.”

“When that Wonderland lich tried that with Magnus…” Taako argues.

“This wasn’t someone trying to move in. This was… whatever did this must have been tied to the Astral Plane so that when he tried to cross over….” He holds up his hands in two closed fists and then flings them open, fingers spreading to pantomime an explosion. “Like setting off a bomb.”

“Which was probably supposed to happen three days ago,” Lup points out.

Kravitz nods. “The de-aging was probably unintended. Barry… Sildar…” Kravitz frowns. “Barry-of-three-days-ago was likely expected to portal through the Astral Plane as usual after the bounty and be caught unaware. But I’d guess he suspected something was fishy with that bounty and was investigating the situation instead.”

“If he’d gone through then…” Lup says with a shiver.

Words tumble from Taako in a flurry, “But if his soul is torn out while he’s still alive, couldn’t he get it back? Especially if he’s on the Astral Plane? Even if he’s not a lich right now? Is that what just happened?”

“Not exactly. That was messy and, well, I’m not sure he could have made it through the portal… intact. Lup only got him here by spell and even then… _If_ he made it through the portal and _if_ he got clear of the threads trying to tie him to the Sea of Souls and _if_ he’d somehow known how to anchor his soul inside himself again despite losing all his knowledge on the subject…” Kravitz pauses, trying to find the words to explain this unusual situation. “Who knows? He’s off the books, so to speak. He and Istus decide.”

“Except there’s another person trying to make the decision, too,” Lup says.

“Exactly,” Kravitz agrees.

“Well, _fuck_ ,” Taako responds impatiently, “with Istus and Bluejeans here, it’s already two to one. We just have to cut this mystery villain out of the equation!”

Sildar has been watching this exchange without comment. After Taako speaks, he looks at the elf and says, “Nerd.”

Taako’s eyes bulge. “Did _Sildar Hallwinter_ just call me, _Taako from TV_ a ‘nerd’? Did that really just happen?”

Lup is half collapsing beside her husband, nearly boneless with an all-encompassing and slightly hysterical laughter. “Oh my gods, babe, that… That was _priceless_.”

Kravitz is biting back a grin as well.

“Sorry,” Sildar says, not looking especially apologetic. “Lup suggested it earlier, before we came out to talk to you both, and…”

“Okay, it was my suggestion, yes, but that _timing!_ ” Lup wipes her eyes again. “I _told_ you you’re a badass,” she adds.

“Well, I’m glad the conversation _about your soul_ was so boring to you…” Taako says. “Okay, yeah, I’ll be honest, I’m a little bit proud, Barold. Er, Sildar. But if the science thing doesn’t work out I still wouldn’t recommend you for the comedy circuit, ya feel?”

Sildar nods.

Kravitz tilts his head as if listening to a voice only he hears. A moment later, Lup’s attention is similarly caught.

Sildar looks back and forth between them but it’s Taako who explains. “I’ve seen that look before. The Raven Queen has summoned them.”


	11. Chapter 11

“Damn,” Kravitz says as his attention returns to the group.

“Fuck,” Lup says more vehemently as her focus settles on them as well.

“If one of you doesn’t start talking I’m going to have to find a new boyfriend AND a new sister,” Taako threatens.

“The reaper who reported the original necromancy that Sildar went to investigate was just found,” Kravitz tells them. “Dead - or soulless - which shouldn’t be possible. Now all reapers are to report to the Queen.”

“Is this a covering-tracks situation or a reaper-serial-killer situation?” Taako asks.

Kravitz’s mouth sets in a hard line as his jaw clenches. “Unclear,” he answers.

“Okay, how about this,” Lup suggests. “We go to this round up - just you and me, Kravitz - and we let whoever did this think they were successful with Sildar. Do you think the Queen will go along with that?” Her face turns guilty as she looks at Taako and Sildar. “Do you think you both could…”

“Yes!” Taako responds instantly. “At least that would give us some kind of advantage in this shit show.”

“Sildar?” she asks.

“If it gives us an advantage, it’s worth trying,” he answers.

“So where do we stash them?” she asks Kravitz.

“Give me a moment,” he tells them, a subtle smile lighting his face. “I have an idea.”

Lup, Taako, and Sildar watch in various levels of anxiety as Kravitz’s eyes once again focus on nothing in particular and his attention divides. After a few moments he steps closer to them and pulls them into a small huddle. “Be still a moment,” he instructs and suddenly the space around them shivers with energy. The area that was once an empty expanse suddenly becomes a narrow alcove in the back of a large and open room. From their vantage point they can see the rear of the Raven Queen’s throne and her empty court beyond.

“Now we go make our appearance,” Kravitz tells Lup. He turns and makes a small portal in the rear of the alcove. “The Raven Queen’s magic will protect this space and close it off as soon as we go through. We’ll meet up as soon as this is over. I’d suggest you keep quiet back here,” he finishes, directing the last at Taako.

“I’m insulted…” Taako says. “Fine,” he adds when Kravitz doesn’t change his expression. “We’ll behave.”

Kravitz still doesn’t move. “  _I’ll_ behave,” he says. “Temporarily.”

The reaper moves forward to kiss his boyfriend. “Thank you, love,” he tells Taako. “You’ll get to raise all kinds of hell soon, I promise,” he offers.

Lup and Sildar look at each other. He’s moved as far from the open portal as the small space allows. Her eyes dart to her brother and his boyfriend and back to her husband. She leans forward and kisses Sildar gently on the forehead. “Hang in there, babe,” she tells him softly. “Just a little longer, okay?” He nods and puts on a tense smile for her.

Kravitz enters the portal and Lup pauses for a moment, looking at this younger version of the man she’s loved for so long. Finally she smiles and nods once then follows Kravitz through the portal.

As soon as the portal closes, the space around them hardens, solidifying into walls that thrum with the power of the Raven Queen. Taako delicately touches a finger to the surface nearest him. He can feel the energy and see it gently surrounding his hand.

“Okay, then,” he tells Sildar. “Guess we wait.”

“Is this…” Sildar starts. He looks away, to where the open end of the alcove had been. A shimmering, translucent wall stands between them and the larger space. They can see others gathering in the space though there’s not yet sign of Kravitz and Lup. “Is this how things always are for you guys?” He swallows nervously then amends, “For us?”

Taako shrugs and adjusts the cuff of his sleeve with great attention. “Sometimes,” he answers. “I know we gave you the abbreviated version back there. For example, Lup left out the decade you two were separated and most of us forgot either of you existed.”

Sildar’s eyes grow wide. “We had a decade apart?” He closes his eyes, focuses on more understandable portions of the story. “And there are… seven?”

“The seven birds,” Taako says, remembering the prophecy from Maureen Miller’s soul crystal. “The twins, the lover, the protector, the…” Taako stops, his expression hardening. “Yeah. Seven of us.”

Sildar leans back against one wall then slowly lowers himself to the floor. He straightens his back with a wince. “Are they - Are we - good people?”

Taako narrows his eyes, looking the other man over. He’s seen Barry move this way for as long as he’s known him - mindful of stiff joints or tender muscles - so it doesn’t seem right for a man who’s physically lost half his age. But then, this has been a hell of a day for the uninitiated. He moves to sit beside Sildar, angling so they can both see into the other room beyond the Raven Queen’s throne. “Mostly,” he says in answer. “Best intentions, I guess, though you didn’t hear that from me.” He sighs and examines his rings, buffing one with the edge of his sleeve. “It’s a long story.”

“But we beat whatever that was we were fighting and running from?”

“Yeah. We won.”

“Mmm,” Sildar responds.

Taako looks over at him again. Sildar has leaned his head back against the wall and his eyes are unfocused, aiming up into the shadows above them.

“You doing okay over there?” Taako asks. He starts rooting in the satchel at his side. “I think I have a health potion or two in here. Might not be a bad idea to…”

“I don’t think that’s gonna do much,” he answers. He pulls off his glasses. “These aren’t helping much either,” he says and tucks them into the pocket of his shirt. “Just giving me a headache… Making me dizzy, too.”

Taako checks the other room. Kravitz and Lup have arrived and are now near the center of the group gathered at the foot of the Raven Queen’s dais. Lup wears fury like a mask and Taako realizes she has to perform right now. She’s playing the grieving widow. His stomach clenches. Beside his sister Kravitz’s handsome face is cold and unreadable. It looks wrong to see the reaper looking impassive. Taako knows him so well now. He’s not that at all. He’s warm and funny and caring and… Taako cuts off the thought. He can’t contemplate any of this right now.

He turns back to the man beside him. “Fuck, Sildar, my dude… you’re not looking so hot.”

“I’ll be okay,” he says. “Just need to rest.”

Taako dips his hand back into his satchel. “Yeah, let’s try that health pot, okay? Can’t hurt, right?”

“Sure, Taako, whatever you say.”

At last, his fingers find the heavy pottery container and pull it loose of the chaos of assorted belongings crammed into his bag. He pries out the cork and holds the potion up for Sildar. “Too bad there’s not room to pop up the old Pocket Spa in here. You’d get more benefit from that thing if you drank it in there. But… maybe it’s a good idea to steer clear of pocket dimensions, come to think of it.”

Sildar’s hand wraps so loosely around the jar that for a moment Taako is concerned he’s not going to be able to hold it. Sildar manages to take a small sip then lowers it again. “Go ahead and chug it, dude,” Taako instructs. He’s getting truly worried now.

“Yeah,” Sildar says. “Just a little…uh…little hard to swallow.”

Taako looks back to the other room. They need to wrap this shit up in there.

He watches Sildar slowly drink the potion. His attention is caught between making sure the potion is consumed and checking for signs the Raven Queen’s meeting is concluding. Finally Sildar finishes the liquid.

“Help any?” Taako asks.

“I think so,” he answers. He looks at the empty ceramic container, rubbing his thumbnail along one side. “Don’t tell Lup, okay?” he asks, looking up to meet Taako’s eyes. “She’s worried enough already.”

“Yeah, she’s not the only one, my dude. Taako’s startin’ to feel pretty nervous too.”

“I’ll be fine,” he repeats.

“Okay, but…” Taako starts.

Taako’s stone of far speech crackles and Angus McDonald’s voice comes through loud and clear.

“Sir! I think I found something!”

“Shit,” Taako says, scrambling up. The group in the other room have all turned their attention to the space where he and Sildar are hidden. He doesn’t think anyone can see them but they definitely heard something.

“Not now, Ango!” Taako whispers and shuts off the stone.

There’s something going on in the other room but it’s impossible to tell what from this angle. “Can you get up?” Taako asks Sildar, already yanking at his arm. “I think we’re about to have a situation.”


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> To quote Griffin McElroy: "We’re nearly caught up now."

Most of the reapers in the Raven Queen’s court have turned their attention to the back corner of her chamber, so it’s of little surprise that they miss the halfling attempting to slip out behind them.

Taako, however, can see her perfectly.

“Kravitz!” he yells. “Behind you!”

Kravitz and Lup turn but they don’t have a clear view from their position in the middle of the group the Queen had assembled.

“Hang tight,” Taako tells Sildar. “Looks like Taako finally gets to roll!” He casts Blink and appears on the other side of the translucent wall.

“Here’s an old favorite!” Taako yells. He casts at the floor just ahead of the halfling’s escape path. Black tentacles erupt from the ground. She plows into them while looking over her shoulder at the screaming elf. She’s quickly restrained by the flailing limbs.

Taako comes to a halt beside Kravitz and Lup. “Bring back memories, Krav?” he asks with a grin.

Kravitz rolls his eyes but his mouth curves into a smile. “I’m not sure that was necessary but thank you, love.”

Lup wastes no time. She crosses the distance and has her scythe at the halfling’s throat in half a moment. “There a good reason you were ducking out early on a staff meeting?” Lup says. Her words are light but her tone is not. Even less so is her expression, which clearly indicates how ready she is to put her scythe to use.

The halfling sneers at her. “You have no authority over me!”

“I DO AND YOU WILL ANSWER,” the Raven Queen demands.

The halfling has the good sense to look cowed at the Queen’s words but doesn’t speak. Her hand twitches within the grasp of one oil-slicked looking tentacle. 

“Don’t think the scythe is answering your call just now,” Lup informs her. “Maybe try following instructions and answering the question.” The outside blade of Lup’s scythe pushes tighter against her throat. “The Queen isn’t known for patience. Me? Even less so.”

“Oh,  _ please  _ tell me more of your threats and lack of patience,  _ phoenix fire _ ,” the halfling taunts. Her angry eyes stare at Lup from beneath a mass of wild black curls. “I’m well acquainted with the violence you are capable of. Who here isn’t?” Her gaze cuts back to the reapers who have now gathered around Taako’s circle of tentacles. “How many have we shepherded here at the whim of you and your family?”

Lup’s scythe drops from the halfling’s throat. “Is that what this is about?” she asks, her voice low.

“How many towns fell to your device? How many  _ lives _ ?”

Kravitz steps forward. “Enough, Kithri,” he demands. “Did you set this up for vengeance?”

“Retribution,” Kithri answers. “Justice. Her people brought the Hunger here. Then to stop it they distributed their own horrors among us? Terrors that killed our loved ones?” she tells Kravitz. Her eyes center on Lup again. “My best friend died in Phandolin,” she says, her voice iced with venom. “She was just delivering cider… never hurt anyone in her life.”

Lup’s scythe disappears. “I’m sorry,” she says simply. She opens her mouth again but no words come out. She turns to walk away but the sight of Taako stops her. Her twin has caught all of her drained fury.

“Noelle?” Taako asks, pushing past his sister. “You  _ dare _ to claim part of this was for  _ Noelle _ ?”

Kravitz moves to intercept Taako as he marches towards the halfling but Taako shrugs him off like a loose sweater. “Noelle would  _ never _ condone what you’ve done,” he says, the words spitting from his lips like level nine curses. “And the man you attacked? The man whose  _ soul _ you set to explode out of him like a fucking bomb? He died trying to save her, trying to save everyone in Phandolin.”

“You mean the necromancer? The one who made himself a lich and had more lives than pants? The reaper who collected bounties using necromancy? Excuse me if I don’t feel badly for the loss of an abomination like him. He deserved  _ worse _ .”

Lup whirls back around. Words fly out of her mouth with the same ferocity Taako just used with the halfling. “Don’t talk about him in the past tense.” Taako moves back to his sister’s side and wraps his arm around her shoulders.

“Kithri Stonetree, did you set up an innocent as a bounty, ambush a fellow reaper, and murder another reaper to cover your tracks?” Kravitz asks, his voice cold and official.

The halfling laughs, “An innocent? She’s a simpering fan of the ‘seven birds’ despite everything they did to our world.”

“Did you set up an innocent as a bounty, ambush a fellow reaper, and murder another fellow reaper to cover your tracks?” Kravitz repeats. His scythe appears at his side. A glow empowers it that none of them have ever seen. Iridescent black liquid appears to shimmer over the blade and spectral feathers drip from its tip to disappear before they reach the floor.

Kithri narrows her eyes at Kravitz. “You’re as bad as the rest of that ‘family,’” she condemns. “If you weren’t so tied in with them you’d see the truth. They’ve twisted what it means to serve the Raven Queen, just like they ruined this world with their relics.”

“Did you set up an innocent…” Kravitz begins again. Taako’s spell expires. Evard’s Black Tentacles disappear, releasing the halfling who doesn’t bother trying to escape. She only stands up straighter to hurl her response at Kravitz.

“YES!” Kithri screams. “I…”

Her words are cut off as Kravitz swings his scythe. The strange light on his scythe fades as his arc concludes. The halfling is simply  _ gone _ .

“DO ANY OTHERS WISH TO QUESTION MY CHOICES IN EMISSARIES?” the Raven Queen demands. The sound of rustling feathers gathers like a storm in the chamber.

Her reapers all shake their heads and murmur their ‘no’s. Few look beyond the floor immediately surrounding them.

“YOUR VENGEANCES HAVE NO PLACE HERE. YOU ARE MY EMISSARIES. YOU DISPENSE MY JUSTICE AND ASSIST SOULS TO THEIR DESTINATION.”

The room is silent.

“IS THIS UNDERSTOOD?”

Variations of “Yes, my Queen” are heard from around the room.

“DISMISSED,” she commands.

When the room has cleared, the Raven Queen waves her hand and the walls forming the annex dematerialize. “THANK YOU, KRAVITZ,” she says before vanishing herself as well.

Behind the dais of her now empty throne they can see two figures.

In the space where the annex had stood, Sildar has collapsed to the floor when the wall supporting him disappeared. Someone else is on the ground beside him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd like to give a particular thank you to @daveisverydramatic on tumblr for the moral support that got this chapter finished!


	13. Chapter 13

Lup rushes to her husband’s side. “Sildar!” she calls as she reaches him. He raises his head then closes his eyes with a sigh of relief. “Lup…” he manages.

A moan comes from the crumpled form beside him. Ceramic shards litter the ground around the other fallen human.

Taako and Kravitz reach them. “Holy shit, Barold, did you knock this dude out with that empty health pot?”

“His name is Sildar.” Lup reminds her brother distractedly. She’s feathering her fingers over her husband’s skin, checking for injuries. 

“Sorry, yeah. Nice work, Sildar,” Taako says.

“Some’d say… badass,” he responds with a weak smile.

Kravitz reaches to turn the fallen figure over but Sildar raises a hand to stop him. “Don’t. There’s’a knife…” he takes a labored breath before continuing, “Didn’t look right.”

Kravitz stands, summons his scythe, then nudges the figure with the unbladed end. The figure groans as Kravitz uses the bottom of his scythe and the tip of one shiny black Wingtip Oxford to leverage the man enough that he rolls over. “Dallen,” Kravitz says, sounding unsurprised. “He’s usually involved when there’s controversy,” he explains.

The weapon Sildar mentioned is loosely held in the man’s gloved hand. Taako unceremoniously crushes the man’s hand with his heel until the knife clatters free, then kicks it out of reach. The pain in Dallen’s hand is enough to stir him to alertness. “What the…” he begins but Kravitz silences him with the blunt end of his scythe thrust against his chest.

“Did you assist Kithri Stonetree in setting up an innocent as a bounty, murder a reaper, and attempt the murder of this reaper?” He gestures to Sildar.

“Yeah,” Dallen says with a nasty grin. “They’re embarrassments to the Queen…” he begins. His line of sight catches on Lup where she kneels beside her husband. His eyes narrow with hatred. “Now you can feel what it’s like to lose someone, have them gone forever,” he tells her. 

Kravitz digs the wooden end of the scythe in harder. The strange black glow appears once again on the blade of his scythe. 

“I made an error earlier. Allow me to correct that mistake.” Kravitz’s mild, conversational inflection freezes to a toneless chill. “Did anyone else help the two of you?”

“No, but they’ll wish they did, wish they could claim a part of…”

Kravitz flips his scythe around and arcs it in a quicksilver motion. In the space of a single breath the man has simply disappeared. The glow on his scythe blade fades as soon as its work is complete.

“Mind that knife,” Kravitz tells Taako as he gestures the scythe away again. Where the knife lies on the floor it seems to pulse with a sickly purple energy. 

“Maybe Angus will… Oh shit, Angus!” Taako pulls out his stone and dials the boy detective.

“Sir! Are you okay?” Angus says immediately.

“Yeah, we had a situation but it’s…” he looks at Sildar who is still looking decidedly not well. “If I describe a knife or dagger - some kind of short blade - can you look it up?”

“A dagger? That’s why I called you! I found a … well, it’s just a legend, but a lot of legends do have…”

“Let’s skip the backstory for now,” Kravitz suggests.

“Oh! Certainly! The legends say there were these blades - Eternity Daggers, they’re called - that can do what you described, sir. Supposed to be able to cut a person free of their fate but there’s stories about them stealing years or even cutting out a person’s soul. There are claims that they were one of the Raven Queen’s earliest weapons, a sort of prototype for her scythes. The legends go  _ way _ back.”

“The Eternity Daggers?” Kravitz asks, stunned.

“Does it say what one looks like?” Taako asks. “Mention a purple glow?”

“Yes!” Angus yelps. “Did you find one? Don’t touch it! One legend claimed that…”

“Angus,” Lup interrupts, “Did you find anything about reversing the effects?”

“Um, no, Ms. Lup.” Angus responds carefully. “But I’ll keep looking now that I know they’re real.” He hesitate before continuing. “I’m sure I’ll find something!” he offers reassuringly.

“Thanks, Ango,” Taako says. “Let us know.”

“Of course, sir!”

Taako kneels beside his sister. “I was hoping this would be one of those fairy tale things where defeating the bad guy reversed the spell. Where’s JeffAndrew when you need him?”

Lup doesn’t respond. Sildar’s eyes are closed again and his expression is pinched with pain.

“What do we do now, Kravitz?” she asks. “We can’t take him back through the portal and Plane Shift barely worked last time.”

“Who’s… the innocent?” Sildar asks. He winces as he tries to get up. He stills himself again, concentrating his effort on speaking instead. “You said… ‘set up… innocent’… before.”

“The bounty you were collecting. She was an innocent they were using to trap you.”

“Where?” Sildar asks.

“The Eternal Stockade.”

“Take me,” he demands.

Kravitz looks to Lup for her opinion but her face is frighteningly blank. Taako exchanges a wordless look with him and shrugs, shaking his head. It’s clear their list of options are short.

“Okay, Sildar,” Kravitz agrees. “We’ll get you there.”

“What about this thing?” Taako asks, looking at the dagger. “Fuck - that guy was wearing a glove but…” He looks at the spot where the man had been laying. The glove - like everything else about Dallen - is gone.

Lup pulls off her jacket and throws it over the blade. She scoops it up with only the slightest hesitation before touching the thing, using the material as a buffer. She wraps the blade in the coat and ties the arms around it like a terrible gift. She threads one trailing sleeve through her belt and ties it again. “One problem I can solve, at least,” she says bitterly.

“Can the Raven Queen do that space manipulation thing again?” Taako asks.

“She’s not answering,” Kravitz responds quietly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just uh... stick with me, folks. Okay?


	14. Chapter 14

Going from the Raven Queen’s court to the Eternal Stockade would normally take only a moment for her reapers. Without the convenience of their scythe portals, though, the distance is formidable. Trying to do it while assisting Sildar is excruciatingly slow.

He’s silent, focusing all his strength on moving. Lup and Kravitz are supporting him on either side. He is increasingly reliant on their help.

Lup has been trying to convince herself that physical conditions aren’t necessarily accurate in the Astral Plane but she’s not fooling herself. Whatever is happening with him, they are quickly losing time to fix it.

Taako had said this wasn’t their Barry, this was someone they never met. But every time she looks at Sildar she thinks how wrong Taako was. This is Barry, the Barry they grew to think of as family, the Barry she fell in love with, the Barry she wants to spend eternity with. The name isn’t familiar to him but everything about _him_ is familiar to _her_. He’s still funny in a way he doesn’t realize and shy and easily embarrassed. And even though to him, he has only known her for a day, he looks at her in almost exactly the same way he has for a hundred years. He may not have the same weight of history in his eyes but the seed of it is the same.

She feels Taako and Kravitz looking at her as they walk to the Eternal Stockade. They both must be wondering at the point of this journey. All she knows is that if this is what Sildar wants, this is what they need to do. And what else _can_ they do? She can’t take him home. She can’t even…

Lup pauses to wrap Sildar’s arm around her shoulder differently, trying to make moving easier for him. He makes a soft grunt of pain. “Sorry, babe,” she says around a knot of fear that is growing to suffocating proportions. The quiet hum of his ““mmhmm” and his gentle squeeze on her shoulder are such familiar responses that she nearly stumbles. How many times aboard the Starblaster or more recently in their own home have they bumped into one another and had an exchange the same or mirror of this? Gentle words, soft touches, a familiarity that spans decades and apparently transcends memory.

By the time they arrive at the Stockade, Sildar is looking gray. His breathing is shallow and fast.

Kravitz directs them to the cell where the Stockade’s newest bounty is housed. The half elf jumps up at their arrival. Her expression of relief falls as she sees Sildar.

“Oh my gosh! Buddy, are you okay?”

“Are you… the…” he turns to Kravitz for an answer instead of continuing his question.

“Yes, she’s the innocent,” he answers.

“Barry?” she asks with dawning horror. She turns to Kravitz, “What happened to him?”

“That’s not…” Taako begins and the woman’s face changes again.

“Oh my god, you’re _Taako!_ ” she says. “I _never_ thought I’d get to meet…”

“Yeah, yeah,” Taako says, less enthused at his recognition than he’s ever been. “Taako from TV. Amazing.”

“Sorry,” she says genuinely.

Sildar untangles himself from Lup and Kravitz. He leans against the gleaming ivory grate separating the four of them from the half elf.

“Gonna get… you out,” he promises her. Turning to Kravitz, he asks, “Open…how?”

Kravitz indicates an oval, hand sized panel in the center of the grate at about waist height. There’s no lock opening or other indication of how it works. “That should be keyed to the touch of the reaper who collected the bounty,” he says. “But… Sildar, you’re not a reaper anymore. It may not work.”  He demonstrates by placing his own hand on the panel. The panel doesn’t change.

Kravitz steps back and Sildar positions his hand against the flat panel. As Kravitz warned, nothing happens.

“What… now?” he asks.

“Babe,” Lup says. “You tried...”

He shakes his head and puts a hand on Lup’s arm, curling feverish fingers around her wrist. He nods at the half elf woman in the cell. “Here…cause of me… Have to… fix it.”

“I’m not sure you can,” Kravitz says gently. “The Raven Queen herself will have to intervene.”

Sildar just looks at Kravitz intently.

“She’s…” he looks away from Sildar’s stare, unable to face the man as he admits something he’s struggling to admit to himself, something that hasn’t happened since one other terrible day. “She’s not answering me.”

Sildar nods as if he’d already known this fact. He taps the panel. “Blood?” he asks.

Kravitz shakes his head. “That’s not really how things work here.”

“Try,” he says. He shifts his gaze back to Lup. “Knife?”

“No,” she says. “Babe, no, I… Like Angus said, I really don’t think you should touch it. I don’t think _anyone_ should touch it.”

Sildar closes his eyes and takes a few slow, steadying breaths. When he opens his eyes, they are blazing bright and focus on Lup with sharp intensity. He steps closer to her and puts his hands on her shoulders. He smiles. It’s a small, tired smile, but it’s so warm, so familiar.

“Hey,” he whispers. And then he asks her a question that cements everything she’s trying to deny. “Last first kiss?” he asks and the ashen skin of his cheeks gains the ghost of a blush.

Lup nods, not trusting her voice.

She tries so hard, valiantly attempts to shove her worry and fear and blossoming grief away. She raises her hand to his cheek. Young Sildar’s face doesn’t seem to stubble as quickly as older Barry’s did and Barry only shaves every other day or so. But there’s still a soft prickle of very early beard scrubbing against her fingers. She pushes back the hair that flops down over the center of his forehead, a movement she’s made so many times her fingers know the feel of those brown strands before she touches them.

He moves one hand from her shoulder and rests his fingers on her collarbone,    runs his thumb along her jaw. His eyes seem so much closer without his glasses between them. That familiar intensity in his gaze knocks the breath out of her even before he kisses her.

When their lips meet, it’s nothing like their original last first kiss, so long ago on a balcony overlooking the Legato conservatory. That kiss had been decades of longing wrapped with all the delicious possibilities that spread out ahead of them.

This kiss, despite all Lup’s effort to separate it, is etched in sadness and loss.

But at the core, they’re still two people who have so much love for one another that it spills over them, surrounds them, joins them.

To Sildar he’s loved her for less than a day but it might as well have been a lifetime. He wishes it were.

To Lup it’s unfathomable. The moments looming on the other side of this kiss are a void her closed eyes can’t block out.

His lips leave hers and he move back just enough to look at her, to memorize every detail of her face. Then he tilts his head to hers and they stand, foreheads together, and hold fast to that love for one more moment.

And then he lets her go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stick with me for one more chapter, okay?


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It gets worse before it gets better. (But it does get better.)

Lup’s fingers shake as she unties the jacket wrapped dagger from her belt. Taako moves to help but she shakes her head and brushes his fingers away. It takes a few attempts to loosen the simple knot of sleeves.

Sildar takes the bundle from her reluctant hands. He unwraps her red jacket, freeing the knife. The purple glow pulses like it did on the floor of the Raven Queen’s court but now it also stretches out towards Sildar in delicate tendrils. He wraps his fingers around the hilt and the purple glow surges, darkening to black that begins to spread up his arm.

“Sildar…” Lup says, her voice struggling to form the word.

He doesn’t respond. The blade in his hand seems to have entranced him. He extends the index finger of his free hand and slices the pad of his finger on the tip of the blade. As blood appears on his finger, that hand is wrapped in the same black glow.

He turns to the panel on the Stockade cell and the woman behind the grate skitters back instinctively. He pushes his bloody finger against the panel. For a moment they hear a low humming sound. Then the sound stops and the panel remains unchanged.

Sildar laughs. It’s a tired and humorless sound. “Know… what to do,” he tells them.

The black glow has reached his forearm on the side with the bloody finger and up to the shoulder of the arm holding the dagger.

He looks at Lup once more. “Lup…” he says, and the pain clears away from his face. “I love you… I’m sorry.”

Then he buries the dagger in his chest.

“No!” Lup screams, instantly reaching to pull the blade free. Taako barely manages to catch her wrist before she touches the weapon. The black glow from the dagger engulfs Sildar as he crumples to the ground.

It takes Taako and Kravitz together to hold Lup back. She struggles against them, wordless sounds of denial tearing loose from her chest to fill the space around them.

Light cuts through the black glow covering Sildar, burning it away. In moments the black haze is entirely burned off. Clear of that sickly black glow, rays of light shine from him, dancing over the walls around them. One flashes over the oval on the ivory grate and the panel cracks open, falling free. The grate splits in two, sliding open. Inside the cell a jagged tear rends itself open, creating a portal beside the woman. Through it a faded wooden sign can be seen. A large, glowing lantern illuminates the words ‘The Hangman’s Daughter.’

“Thank you!” the woman tells them, tearing her eyes away from the portal for a moment. “I’m… I’m really sorry,” she tells them. Then she steps through the portal and disappears. As soon as the woman has passed through, the portal sews itself closed.

The light fracturing from Sildar fades and his hand falls clear of the blade.

Lup surges free of her brother and Kravitz and falls to her knees beside her husband.

“DO NOT TOUCH THE BLADE, MY CHILD.”

Lup startles. Kravitz tucks Taako tightly to his side. The Raven Queen steps out of the cell where the half elf’s portal has just closed. She extends one open hand. The Queen’s fingers curl closed around the dagger as it appears in her hand. “THIS WILL BE SECURED IN MY ARMORY.”

Lup turns back to Sildar and the dagger is gone, no longer piercing him. A single, shining strand of golden yarn threads through his wound before also disappearing.

“I RETURN WHAT BELONGS TO HIM,” The Raven Queen announces.

A lone, ebony black feather falls from above him to land on his chest. Lup looks up at the Raven Queen.

“HE AND ISTUS HAVE MADE THEIR DECISIONS,” she says in answer to the question in Lup’s eyes. And then she is gone.

Movement pulls Lup’s attention back to her husband. His fingers find the feather and slowly curve around it. As she watches, the feather fades to shadow then dissolves into nothing at all. She hears his intake of breath, sees his chest rise.

When she looks at his face, a strangled sob escapes her. His face is the one she’s looked at for a hundred years and more. He’s _Barry_.

“Babe?” she asks. The word comes out as barely a whisper through her frantic, desperate hope. She curls one hand over his fingers and when he squeezes his hand around hers, her tears break loose. She lays her head against his chest and is doubly rewarded: he wraps his other arm around her shoulders and beneath her cheek she feels the steady thump of his heart beat.

“Lup?” he asks. He struggles to sit up with her half lying on him but she’s loathe to move, caught in the everyday magic of his heartbeat and the steady motion of his chest as he breathes.

“Sildar?” Kravitz asks.

“Ugh,” he answers with a groan. “Don’t call me that. ‘Barry’ is fine, Krav.”

And then he’s unable to speak. His wife prevents further words with fervent application of her mouth on his.

When she finally lets him stand, the four of them look awkwardly at one another for a long moment.

“So…” Taako says. “Are we back to business as usual or…?”

“Barry, try to summon your scythe,” Kravitz suggests.

Barry holds out his hand and curls it nervously. “Okay,” he says mostly to himself. “Here goes.” He twists his hand and flips his wrist and his scythe appears.

Unwilling to move his arm from around Lup, he slices awkwardly with the blade. A portal opens and through it they can see the living room of he and Lup’s home, bathed in an early dawn light.

“Do you…” Lup asks, fear evident in her voice, “Is it okay?”

“Won’t know until we try,” Barry answers.

Lup swats his arm. “You are a fucking awful scientist. How did none of us ever notice?”

Taako moves to the portal first. “Look, I’m going on through because I’ve had enough of his comedy for one day. No way am I sticking around for him to play some ‘oh no, the portal hurts!’ nonsense.”

Kravitz watches Taako step through the portal and turns to Lup and Barry. “I don’t know why he bothered,” he tells them. “I’m just going to have to open another portal home for him, anyway.” He smiles at them. “I’m glad to have you back on the job, Barry.”

“Thanks,” Barry answers gratefully. “I have to say it took years off my life, though.”

Kravitz shakes his head. “Yeah, I should have just followed Taako,” he says. He steps through, still shaking his head.

“Okay,” Lup tells him. “Two things. One: never again complain about being perpetually in your fifties, okay? I want every creaking joint and aching muscle and…” she pulls his glasses out of his pocket and carefully places them on his face, “every bit of poor eyesight just the way they are, okay?”

“Deal,” he promises. “What’s the other thing?”

“Let’s go home and throw my brother and his boyfriend out. The way I see it, we’ve got sixty years to make up for.”

“I like the way you think,” he tells her.

And they do that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for sticking with me! I really have appreciated the notes and feedback. Fic writing is still really new to me and it's been wonderful getting some enthusiastic responses. Feel free to drop by my tumblr (@youhearstatic) and leave prompts and such. Thank you again!

**Author's Note:**

> Psst: my all TAZ tumblr is youhearstatic.


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